In recent years, the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in development of light fixtures for various common lighting purposes has increased, and this trend has accelerated as advances have been made in the field. Indeed, lighting applications which previously had typically been served by fixtures using what are known as high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are now being served by LED light fixtures. Such lighting applications include, among a good many others, so-called canopy light for gasoline stations and the like, soffit-mounted light fixture, surface-mounted light fixtures, and a variety of factory lighting and commercial building lighting.
LED light fixtures present particularly challenging problems which relate to heat dissipation. Improvement in dissipating heat from fixture components is one significant objective in the field of LED light fixtures. It is of importance for various reasons, one of which relates to extending the useful life of the lighting products. Achieving improvements in thermal management without expensive additional structure and apparatus is much desired. It is also desired to achieve compactness in LED light fixtures while still allowing excellent light output. Another major consideration in the development of LED light fixtures for various high-volume applications is controlling product cost even while delivering improved light-fixture performance.
In summary, finding ways to significantly improve the dissipation of heat from LED light fixtures and otherwise improve their performance without increase in cost of manufacturing would be much desired.